As Belfast continues to celebrate a year-long program of culture inspired by Belfast’s designation as a UNESCO City of Music in 2024 and its well-known literary reputation, Northern Ireland’s economic minister called in Toronto last week to talk travel with the trade.
“Canada is an extremely important market for tourism to the north of Ireland,” stated Conor Murphy. “It is a market which has a strong affinity with us, our values, and our ambitions, and we believe that tourism from Canada can grow significantly in the years ahead. We have an award-winning tourism offering, a committed industry and there are excellent relationships in place with our Canadian travel trade partners to facilitate continued growth.”
Her added, “There are a huge number of great reasons for Canadian travellers to include the north of Ireland in their future travel plans.”
Among them: world-class attractions such as Titanic Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway, as well as flagship events such as the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2025.
At the same time, screen tourism has become hugely important in Northern Ireland, with visitors flocking to the Game of Thrones Studio Tour, as well as locations made famous by Netflix’s Derry Girls.
The historic walled city of Derry, where the Wild Atlantic Way meets the Causeway Coastal Route, also garners attention at this time of year as home to Europe’s largest Halloween festival. Indeed, the New York Times has previously listed Derry as one of the world’s top Halloween destinations.
Siobhan McManamy, Tourism Ireland’s Director of Markets & Partnerships, said: “Our aim is to increase the value of overseas tourism to the island of Ireland (and) Northern Ireland has so much to offer across regions and seasons, from iconic spots to hidden gems.
“Working in close collaboration with our Irish and Canadian tourism partners, we are rolling out an ambitious marketing program of high impact campaigns and promotions, targeting those consumers with greatest potential to travel to Northern Ireland.”
Tourism Ireland notes that this summer saw a 20% increase in capacity from 2023 and non-stop direct flights from five Canadian gateways.
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